Ferryhill Station Primary School

Ferryhill Station Primary School has been placed in special measures after inspectors found it is not providing an acceptable standard of education and that leaders and governors lack the capacity to secure the necessary improvement. The school is small, with 56 pupils, and serves a disadvantaged community: free school meals, SEND and EHC plan proportions are well above national averages. It is part of The Limestone Learning Federation. Safeguarding standards are met. Despite the serious overall judgment, there are clear strengths. The school is inclusive and welcoming, identifies SEND needs quickly, and generally adapts the curriculum well so that pupils with SEND make positive progress from their starting points. Disadvantaged pupils benefit from additional funding, and personal development and wellbeing are well supported. Pupils feel safe and happy, relationships with staff are positive, and they behave well in lessons. They also benefit from clubs, trips and a programme that develops respect and understanding of difference. The main concerns are substantial. Early years provision and leadership and governance require urgent improvement. Children in Reception are not prepared for Year 1, communication and language support is limited, and statutory early years requirements around toileting and intimate care are not met. Achievement is below national averages, teaching and curriculum delivery are inconsistent, and pupils' foundations in reading, writing and mathematics are not secure. Attendance and punctuality are poor, persistent absence is high, and some unkind behaviour at playtimes is not consistently challenged. Governors do not yet have the knowledge or systems to meet their duties, and senior leaders have limited capacity to drive rapid improvement.

Strengths

• Inclusive and welcoming school culture
• Quick identification of SEND and suitable curriculum adaptations
• Pupils with SEND make positive progress from their starting points
• Disadvantaged pupils benefit from effective additional funding
• Strong personal development and wellbeing programme
• Pupils feel safe, happy and well cared for
• Positive relationships between pupils and staff
• Pupils behave well in lessons and show positive attitudes
• Pupils understand British values, respect and difference
• Range of trips, visitors and extracurricular clubs
• Leaders engage well with parents, carers and external agencies
• Safeguarding standards are met

Areas for Improvement

• School requires special measures
• Early years provision requires urgent improvement
• Statutory early years requirements for toileting and intimate care not met
• Children leave Reception unprepared for Year 1
• Limited communication, language and vocabulary development in early years
• Inconsistent early reading and phonics teaching
• Pupils' achievement in national assessments is below national averages
• Foundations in reading, writing and mathematics are not secure
• Curriculum delivery is inconsistent and knowledge gaps persist
• Teachers do not check understanding well enough
• Attendance is low and persistent absence is high
• Too many pupils arrive late, including disadvantaged and SEND pupils
• Some playtime behaviour is unkind and not consistently challenged
• Governors lack knowledge to meet statutory duties, especially early years
• Senior leaders have limited capacity to drive improvement
• Staff training has limited impact and implementation is not checked
• Pupil leadership opportunities have been limited recently
• Staff cannot identify how leaders support workload and wellbeing
• Building challenges have hindered improvement

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Ferryhill Station Primary School attended 93.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 25.0% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 5.4% of pupils at Ferryhill Station Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Ferryhill Station Primary School had 14.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 33.9% of pupils at Ferryhill Station Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.8% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Ferryhill Station Primary School received £11,788 and spent £12,683 for each of its 59 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £18,000 (-£310 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Ferryhill · County Durham local authority: places and applications

What is Ferryhill Station Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ferryhill Station Primary School is Urgent improvement, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Ferryhill Station Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Ferryhill Station Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Ferryhill Station Primary School have?

Ferryhill Station Primary School has 59 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ferryhill Station Primary School cover?

Ferryhill Station Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Ferryhill Station Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 20% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Ferryhill Station Primary School?

Ferryhill Station Primary School is at Chilton Lane, FERRYHILL, County Durham, DL17 0DB.